Table of Contents

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Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS), 2005 (ICPSR 4703)

Principal Investigator(s):
Tanioka, Ichiro, Osaka University of Commerce;
Nitta, Michio, University of Tokyo. Institute of Social Sciences;
Iwai, Noriko, Osaka University of Commerce;
Yasuda, Tokio, Osaka University of Commerce

Summary:

This survey was designed to solicit political,
sociological, and economic information from people living in
Japan. The data were collected between August 25 and November 23,
2005, using face-to-face interviews and self-administered
questionnaires. Respondents were asked to give employment information
for themselves and their spouses, including industry, size of
employer, number of hours worked, level of job satisfaction, and time
spent commuting. Respondents were also queried regarding employment
information and education level of their parents when the respondent
was aged 15. Several questions were asked about household composition,
the type of residence, the state of respondents' finances during the
last few years and compared to other Japanese families both past and
present, sources of financial support, the ease of improving one's
standard of living in Japan, and the use of credit cards and consumer
financing. Views were also sought on divorce, the roles of each
spouse, issues involving children, the responsibility of the
government, and taxation issues. In terms of health, questions were
asked regarding the physical and mental health of respondents and
their household members, the frequency of smoking and alcohol
consumption, and their views on genetically modified foods. Quality of
life questions addressed the amount of satisfaction respondents
received from life, and how often they participated in sports,
leisure, and volunteer activities. Additional topics covered were
euthanasia, the use of technology, juvenile delinquency, car ownership
and usage, their level of trust in various institutions, and whether
respondents belonged to religious, trade, or social service
organizations. Demographic variables include age, sex, education
level, employment status, occupation, labor union membership, marital
status, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), household
income, perceived social status, political orientation, political
party affiliation, and religious affiliation.

This survey was designed to solicit political,
sociological, and economic information from people living in
Japan. The data were collected between August 25 and November 23,
2005, using face-to-face interviews and self-administered
questionnaires. Respondents were asked to give employment information
for themselves and their spouses, including industry, size of
employer, number of hours worked, level of job satisfaction, and time
spent commuting. Respondents were also queried regarding employment
information and education level of their parents when the respondent
was aged 15. Several questions were asked about household composition,
the type of residence, the state of respondents' finances during the
last few years and compared to other Japanese families both past and
present, sources of financial support, the ease of improving one's
standard of living in Japan, and the use of credit cards and consumer
financing. Views were also sought on divorce, the roles of each
spouse, issues involving children, the responsibility of the
government, and taxation issues. In terms of health, questions were
asked regarding the physical and mental health of respondents and
their household members, the frequency of smoking and alcohol
consumption, and their views on genetically modified foods. Quality of
life questions addressed the amount of satisfaction respondents
received from life, and how often they participated in sports,
leisure, and volunteer activities. Additional topics covered were
euthanasia, the use of technology, juvenile delinquency, car ownership
and usage, their level of trust in various institutions, and whether
respondents belonged to religious, trade, or social service
organizations. Demographic variables include age, sex, education
level, employment status, occupation, labor union membership, marital
status, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), household
income, perceived social status, political orientation, political
party affiliation, and religious affiliation.

Universe:
Men and women aged 20-89 living in Japan with the
right to vote.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

The data available for download are not weighted,
and users will need to weight the data prior to analysis.

Additional information about sampling, interviewing, and weighting may
be found in the codebook.

JGSS data and the supporting documents
are provided both in English and Japanese for the convenience of users
of either language. The JGSS is conducted in the Japanese language.
The English version of the questionnaires and datasets have been
constructed for the convenience of researchers. This is to remind all
users of the English version of the JGSS datasets and questionnaires
that the nuanced meanings conveyed in the original language may not be
contained in the English version of the questionnaires and datasets.

The CASEID variable was created for use with online analysis.

The codebook for the Japanese data is the original codebook sent to
ICPSR by the Japanese General Social Survey, 2005.

Methodology

Sample:
A two-stage stratified random sample was used. The
population was stratified by region and size of city/district in 13
major cities, other cities, and suburban districts.

Weight:
The data contain a weight variable (WEIGHT) that should be
used in analyzing the data. Respondents were classified into 144
categories based on sex, age, region, and whether they lived in a
city. The weight for each category was calculated by dividing the
population for each category by the number of respondents for that
category. The population for each category was obtained from the 2005
Population Census. Please refer to the codebook documentation for more
information on weighting.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Created online analysis version with question text.

Restrictions: The data in this collection are to be used for
secondary analysis for academic purposes and instructional purposes
only. The data are to be provided only to researchers, and graduate
and undergraduate students who are affiliated with a university,
college, or research institute. Undergraduate students must be under
the supervision of an instructor who teaches at the same university.